Choosing the wrong Shopify plan costs you money. Pick a plan that is too big, and you pay for features you never touch. Pick one that is too small, and you leave transaction fees and growth tools on the table.
In 2027, Shopify offers a tiered structure that scales from solo founders to nine-figure enterprise brands. The challenge is matching your current stage, revenue, and team size to the right tier without overspending.
This guide breaks down every Shopify plan, who it suits, and how to decide. By the end, you will know exactly which Shopify plan fits your business today and when to upgrade.
Why Your Shopify Plan Choice Matters
Your plan affects more than your monthly bill. It shapes your transaction fees, reporting depth, staff access, and automation capabilities.
A founder processing $5,000 a month has very different needs than one doing $500,000. The right plan lowers your effective cost per sale as you grow.
Shopify remains the dominant platform for a reason. If you want context on that, read why Shopify is still the top choice for e-commerce in 2027.
Before you compare plans, you should also decide if Shopify is even the right platform. Our comparisons of Shopify vs BigCommerce and Shopify vs Squarespace help you confirm that choice.
The Shopify Plans at a Glance
Shopify groups its plans into three broad buckets: entry plans, standard plans, and enterprise. Here is a quick overview of the main tiers available in 2027.
| Plan | Best For | Monthly Price (Annual) | Online Card Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Social and chat selling | ~$5 | Varies |
| Basic | New and small stores | ~$29 | 2.9% + 30c |
| Shopify (Grow) | Growing stores | ~$79 | 2.7% + 30c |
| Advanced | Scaling brands | ~$299 | 2.5% + 30c |
| Plus | Enterprise and high volume | From ~$2,300 | Negotiated |
Prices vary by region and billing cycle. Annual billing typically saves you around 25 percent compared to monthly.
Note that card rates drop as you move up tiers. For high-volume stores, that difference alone can justify an upgrade.
Shopify Starter: The Lightweight Entry Point
The Starter plan is not a full online store. It gives you product links, a checkout, and the ability to sell through social media, messaging apps, and a simple buy button.
You get no standalone storefront with full theme customization. Instead, you embed products into existing content or share them through links.
Who should pick Starter
Starter works if you already have an audience on Instagram, TikTok, or a blog and just need a checkout. It is also fine for testing a single product before you commit.
If you want a true branded store with collections, filtering, and a custom theme, skip Starter. You will outgrow it within weeks.
Shopify Basic: The Default for New Stores
Basic is where most new founders should start. It unlocks a full online store, unlimited products, and a proper checkout experience.
You get two staff accounts, basic reporting, and access to the full Shopify app ecosystem. That is enough to launch a serious business.
What Basic includes
- A complete storefront with theme support
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Discount codes and gift cards
- Basic shipping discounts
If you are just getting started, follow our walkthrough on how to start a Shopify store in 2027. It pairs well with the Basic plan.
You can launch on a free theme and upgrade later. Our guide on Shopify free vs paid themes explains when paid designs pay off.
Who should pick Basic
Choose Basic if you are under roughly $20,000 to $30,000 in monthly revenue and run a lean operation. Solo founders and small teams fit here comfortably.
You can equip a Basic store with a strong toolkit. Review the must-have Shopify apps for new store owners before you add dozens of extensions.
Shopify (Grow): The Sweet Spot for Scaling
The middle plan, often called Shopify or Grow, suits stores that have found traction. It lowers your card rates and adds professional reporting.
You jump to five staff accounts and gain standard analytics. For many brands, this is the plan where data starts driving decisions.
Why the reporting upgrade matters
Better reports mean you can track cohorts, product performance, and marketing returns. Learn how to put that data to work in our guide on Shopify reporting.
Lower transaction fees also become meaningful at this stage. If you process $50,000 a month, saving 0.2 percent per sale adds up fast.
Who should pick Grow
This plan fits brands doing roughly $30,000 to $100,000 monthly. You likely have a small team, repeat customers, and a growing catalog.
At this point, you should also be building a real brand. Our piece on building a Shopify brand that commands premium pricing is worth your time.
Shopify Advanced: For Serious Scaling Brands
Advanced is built for high-volume stores that need deeper insight and automation. You get the lowest standard card rates and up to 15 staff accounts.
The headline feature is advanced reporting with custom report builders. You can slice data in ways the lower plans simply cannot.
Key Advanced features
- Custom report builder
- Third-party calculated shipping rates
- Lower transaction and card fees
- Up to 15 staff members
Advanced also makes sense when you start hiring specialists. Our guide on hiring and managing a team for your Shopify business covers staffing at this stage.
Who should pick Advanced
Pick Advanced if you process $100,000 or more monthly and need granular analytics. The fee savings often cover the price difference on their own.
If you are weighing Advanced against the next tier, read our direct comparison of Shopify Basic, Advanced, and Plus.
Shopify Plus: Enterprise-Grade Commerce
Plus is Shopify’s enterprise offering. It targets brands doing serious volume, usually above $1 million to $2 million in annual revenue.
You get dedicated support, higher API limits, up to around 200 staff accounts, and advanced automation through Shopify Flow and scripts.
What makes Plus different
| Feature | Standard Plans | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout customization | Limited | Full |
| Staff accounts | Up to 15 | ~200 |
| Automation | Basic | Flow and Functions |
| Support | Standard | Dedicated |
| API limits | Standard | Expanded |
Plus unlocks checkout customization and wholesale channels. It also supports headless builds through Shopify Hydrogen, which gives developers full control over the frontend.
If you go headless, you can extend your store with serverless functions in Shopify Hydrogen for custom logic at the edge.
Is Plus worth the upgrade
That depends on your volume and complexity. We answer this directly in Shopify vs Shopify Plus: is it worth the upgrade.
Enterprise buyers also compare Plus against other platforms. See our breakdown of Shopify Plus vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud if you are evaluating that route.
Who should pick Plus
Choose Plus if you run a high-volume brand, need checkout control, or operate multiple storefronts. The negotiated rates and automation justify the cost at scale.
How to Decide Which Shopify Plan Is Right
Price is only one input. Use these factors to match a plan to your reality.
1. Your current monthly revenue
Revenue is the clearest signal. As a rough rule:
| Monthly Revenue | Recommended Plan |
|---|---|
| Under $5,000 | Basic or Starter |
| $5,000 to $30,000 | Basic |
| $30,000 to $100,000 | Grow |
| $100,000 to $200,000 | Advanced |
| $200,000+ | Advanced or Plus |
These are guidelines, not hard limits. A low-margin store may need Advanced earlier for the fee savings.
2. Your transaction fee math
Every plan charges card processing fees. If you use a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments, you pay extra fees too.
Run the numbers before switching gateways. Our comparison of Shopify Payments vs Stripe helps you decide which gateway keeps costs down.
3. Your reporting needs
If you make decisions on gut feel, Basic reporting is fine. If you need cohort analysis and custom reports, you need Grow or Advanced.
4. Your team size
Staff account limits matter more than founders expect. Basic gives two seats, Grow gives five, and Advanced gives fifteen.
5. Your technical ambitions
Planning a headless build or heavy customization? That points toward Plus. Standard plans cover most needs without custom development.
Common Mistakes When Choosing a Plan
Founders often overpay out of ambition or underpay out of caution. Both hurt.
Overbuying too early
Do not jump to Advanced because it looks professional. If your revenue is low, the extra features sit unused while you burn cash.
Ignoring annual billing
Annual plans cut your cost significantly. If you are committed, pay yearly and reinvest the savings into paid Shopify apps that drive revenue.
Forgetting about apps and themes
Your plan cost is only part of your stack. Themes, apps, and migrations add up.
Before buying premium add-ons, read how to choose the right Shopify theme and review the best Shopify themes in 2027.
When Should You Upgrade Your Plan
Upgrade when the math favors it, not before. Track two signals.
First, watch your transaction fees. When the fee savings from a higher plan exceed the price difference, upgrade.
Second, watch your bottlenecks. If you keep hitting staff limits or wish you had custom reports, the next tier pays for itself in productivity.
Growth also comes from optimization, not just plan changes. Improving your Shopify product pages and Core Web Vitals score often boosts revenue more than an upgrade does.
Platform-Level Decisions Before You Commit
If you are still comparing platforms, settle that first. A plan choice means little if the platform is wrong for you.
Marketplace sellers should read Shopify vs Etsy to decide between owning a store and renting an audience. Lightweight sellers can compare Ecwid vs Shopify too.
Migrating from another platform? We cover BigCommerce to Shopify migration and Magento to Shopify migration in detail.
Tools That Affect Your Plan Value
The right stack makes any plan more profitable. Two areas matter most.
Email drives repeat sales. Compare Klaviyo vs Mailchimp for Shopify and Shopify Email vs Mailchimp to pick a platform that scales with you.
AI tools now boost efficiency across every plan. Learn how generative AI is changing Shopify store management and how to use AI for inventory forecasting.
Mobile performance matters too, since most traffic is mobile. Follow our guide on Shopify mobile optimization to protect conversions on every device.
Should You Build the Store Yourself
Your plan choice often ties to your capacity. A Basic store you build alone is cheap but slow to perfect.
If your time is better spent on marketing, consider help. Our guide on hiring someone to build your Shopify store weighs the tradeoffs honestly.
Final Recommendation
Most founders should start on Basic, move to Grow once revenue crosses roughly $30,000 a month, and consider Advanced past $100,000. Plus is for high-volume brands that need control and automation.
Choose based on your revenue, fee math, team, and technical plans, not on which tier sounds most impressive. Upgrade when the numbers justify it, and reinvest the savings into growth.
The right Shopify plan is the one that lowers your cost per sale while giving you room to scale. Match the tier to your stage, and you will never overpay or outgrow your store by surprise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Shopify plan is best for beginners?
Shopify Basic is best for most beginners. It gives you a full store, unlimited products, and core selling tools at a low monthly cost.
Can I switch Shopify plans later?
Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade anytime from your admin settings, and your store data stays intact during the change.
Does Shopify charge transaction fees?
Shopify charges card processing fees on every plan. If you use Shopify Payments, you avoid the extra third-party transaction fee.
Is Shopify Plus worth it for small businesses?
No. Plus is built for high-volume and enterprise brands. Small businesses rarely need its automation, checkout control, or price tag.
How much does Shopify cost per month in 2027?
Plans range from about $5 for Starter to $29 for Basic, $79 for Grow, and $299 for Advanced. Plus starts around $2,300 monthly.
Which plan has the lowest transaction fees?
Among standard plans, Advanced has the lowest card rates. Plus offers negotiated rates that can go even lower at high volume.
Do I need the Advanced plan for better reporting?
If you need custom reports and cohort analysis, yes. Basic and Grow offer solid reporting, but Advanced adds a custom report builder.
